Discover magazine: Better to burn corn than make ethanol

More bad news for ethanol. Number one spot in Discover magazine's top 100 science stories of 2008 goes to new energy sources in the post-oil era. And it would seem, based on the Discover article by Ben Hewitt, that corn- (and wheat-) based ethanol will not be part of the long-term plan. "Corn ethanol, aided by a generous subsidy from the federal government, has had the lead in alternative fuels, but recent studies reveal that is is much more costly, both economically and environmentally, than people had thought," Hewitt writes.

He calls the quest to find a replacement for oil, particularly an energy source for trucks, cars and industrial equipment, "surely one of the greatest scientific and technological challenges of our time."

To answer his own question, "If biofuels aren't the answer, what is?" he says: "It is electricity. And it is already making its way into an auto dealership near you."

Another downside to ethanol: Water use

Hewitt gives more evidence why ethanol is not the answer. One point was new to me: water use. Researchers at University of Texas at Austin reported recently that producing corn ethanol consumes 28 gallons of water per mile traveled. Conventional petroleum uses 0.15 gallons.

In another interesting twist, at least one scientist believes we'd be better off taking biomass — such as corn stover, straw, grass, etc. — and burning it to produce electricity rather than breaking down the starch to make ethanol. Hewitt quotes Tim Searchinger of Princeton saying, "The process of converting biomass into liquid fuel uses half of the energy in the feedstock. It's far more efficient to burn the biomass for electricity and then use the electricity in cars."

Electric cars

Chevy will introduce its Volt (shown in the photo) in 2010. Hewitt also reports that Nissan is expected to launch an electric car in the U.S. in 2010. And Toyota is working on a plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) version of its Prius.